Planning our first cruise...any suggestions or feedback?

[Kaitie09]

We went on Royal Caribbean to Bermuda and had a great time. You can buy cups that allow unlimited refills on soda and water. Also, our travel agent gave us a tip. Book what you want now, and then about two weeks from the cruise date, call and ask if there are any upgrades. A lot of people back out near the end and they normally have bigger rooms you can get for a cheaper cost. We were upgraded from a regular suite to a full suite with a butler and everything for about $400 more. They try to fill the big ones up the most because they do cost more, so when people back out, they practically give them away.

The best thing we did was not plan excursions. When we got to Bermuda, we hopped on one of the local buses and just drove around. If we saw something we liked, we got off. This bus had to have been going 60 on these little tiny roads on the side of a cliff. We talked to a lot of the locals and had a fun day seeing the island for cheap. We ended up finding a little cove where you could rent snorkeling gears and just go out on your own. The one thing we did book was a glass bottom boats tour over the protected reefs.

Also, If you go when there are a lot of people, get a seat at the pool early they get taken quick. And definitely go to the fancy restaurant more than the other ones. Your paying for it, so you should get the amazing food they serve.

 

[chickenlickin8]

Quote:
Thanks for the tips. Sounds like you have been on some awesome cruises! I can't wait! Even if I get sick, it will be fun...LOL!

 

[chicken995]

My wife, stepmom, and stepbrother all have motion sickness issues. They all use the patches that go behind the ear and have never had a problem with those. My wife tried to use just pills the first time we went and she got very sick on night. My stepmom gave her one of her extra patches and she was fine from then on. Won't go cruising without them now.

A quick note on those patches that we learned on our last cruise. Be very careful washing your hair with these on. My wife washed her hair one day (not a full shower), so her head was upside down. Water ran past the patch behind her left ear and ran into her eye. Turns out when that stuff gets into your eye it will dilate it to a great degree for 2-3 days. She had to very sunglasses anytime we went outside (and some places inside) for the second half of the cruise. So be careful to not let that stuff wash into your eyes. This can also happen if you touch the patch and then rub your eyes. They do work great and my wife will continue to use them, just wanted to pass on this word of warning.

 

[debilorrah]

When I was in my 20's Carnival was the way to go. They are party boats. If you are taking kids with you, it may not be your cup of tea. Disney cruises are great if you have kids with you. If not, check the reputation of each one you are looking at, and DO NOT go in August through October - hurricane season and the seas are typically alot rougher than any other time of year.

 

[Beekissed]

I went on Carnival to eastern Caribbean islands and had a blast! It was undoubtably one of the neatest experiences of my life and I can't wait to go again. I get motion sickness easily but found myself getting just slightly queasy during supper and at night~both are times when they speed up the turbines in order to make better time between ports. I didn't have to use any meds and the feeling passed if I didn't concentrate on it.

We went on two catamaran exercursions and enjoyed both, got to snorkel both times and it was a blast...especially when a whole boatload of nudes pulled up next to us and started making for shore. I hadn't known St. John's was a nude beach until that point....kind of funny how fast our catamaran got loaded and out of there.

I got some interesting pics that day, for sure, and again when we visited the nude side of St. Martin/St. Maarten.

We didn't take any precautions for sterilizing anything during our trip....impossible to do, BTW, too too many surfaces and people with which you will come in contact. Take the cruise and let the worries take care of themselves.

My best advice? Try everything, participate in the onboard activities, see all the shows....and rest up by lying in the sun on the days they are travelling between islands. You can always sleep then....nighttime is when all the fun begins! Don't pause for one moment to worry about getting sick....see everything, do everything, eat all the good foods! Sufficient to the day is the evil therein!

Have fun!!!

 

[chickenlickin8]

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OMG...laughing so hard picturing the boat full of nude people...LOL! Thanks for the advice and for the good laugh. I'm sure we will have an awesome time! I'm so excited!

 

[Hangin Wit My Peeps]

We just cruised with the Norwegian Epic (6 day cruise) and it was all free style and we would never cruise any other way again

the freestyle cruising you can eat when you want and whenever you want

If you want 5 meals a day it's yours

It's all inclusive and the ship is awesome! We had the larger room with a balcony and it was beautiful

We had three adults and one child in there and we did just fine. Although we did find out (too late) that we could have said...OH man we are SO crowded and got another room FREE. But oh well, it was great fun and we had a blast! They have tons of free shows including "the blue man group". The Stuarts were wonderful ppl and VERY helpful

We are planning on going again

this cruise goes to Cozemel also and also Honduras.

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

We are doing a cruise with Norwegian cruiseline soon. I was on one of their cruises quite a few years back and my family had a blast. At the time we were young though and during the day we got a bit lost because we weren't young enough to go to the play area for the younger kids and we were too young to go to the clubs for the teenagers. However, I loved the shows and I am REALLY looking forward to relaxing a whole week, especially now that I am older and "legal"! The food places were amazing and there was so much to do on and off the boat. This time we will probably spend more time on the boat instead of doing excursions, but my favorite was snorkling at the private island! This time we are also swimming with dolphins!

 

[I have WHAT in my yard?]

OP did not say the age bracket...

It does matter some. I just could not tolerate CArnival any more. I spend my work days surrounded by teenagers I do NOT want to vacate with them!

Try really hard not to get an inside cabin.

Ask lots of questions of whoever you are booking with. We use agents. I found we did not pay more and got tons more amenities by using a travel agent. But, we used both AAA and others. Different experiences...

 

[Beekissed]

We used AAA also and it was nice. We got to upgrade to a balcony room and it was quite lovely. AAA also provided underwater disposable cameras for free...which I put to good use when the nude crew started snorkeling next to our excursion boat. Not that I'm a weirdo, mind, but it was just something funny at the time...they sort of looked natural and graceful, like manatees.

All a part of the cruise experience!

I never saw a teen when I went and very few little children. Mostly folks my age or older and it was quite relaxing....loved, loved, loved the buffets and the dinner shows.